Secrets and Lies
by Antithesys
Summary: When new girl Bella catches Edwards eye, he shares his secret and shows her a whole new world. When a face from the past returns, secrets are revealed that change everything. My vamps have fangs, they don’t sparkle, and they aren’t made of stone.AU
1. Chapter 1

A/N The vampires in this story are not like SM, they are similar to the vamps in The Vampire Diaries. They can bleed, although they heal almost instantly. They can bite and drink from humans without infecting them. They have an old vampire friend called Tobias (more of him later). He has invented a serum that they inject so they can go into the sun, and a synthesized plasma that they drink instead of having to drink blood.

* * *

Bella Swan looked up at her new school for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at what she saw.

All throughout Bellas life, her mother had moved around a lot to be with her different boyfriends, at Bellas expense. Almost ironic then, that it was one of these boyfriends that now provided her with her first ever chance of some stability. Her mothers latest was a rich ball player called Phil. After living together for a while, Phil had decided that three was too much of a crowd, and nearly persuaded Bellas mother to ship her off to boarding school at his expense. Much arguing and tears later, they had finally reached this compromise, and Bella was now living with her dad. The main point that had finally swung the argument in her favour was that her dad happened to live less than 10 miles away from a very suitable fee paying day school that Phil was happy to cover the fees for. Her dad, Charlie, had always spent most of his time travelling and been very busy with his career. This had always meant he couldn't look after Bella when she was younger since he wasn't around enough, but since Bella was now 17, it didn't matter that he would rarely be home. Bella was used to taking care of herself. Now everyone was happy. Her dad got to see her whenever he was in town, she got a stable home and the chance to go to an excellent school until she graduated, and her mom and Phil got to be alone as much as they wanted. It had all worked out perfectly as far as Bella was concerned.

She walked up the wide stone steps and could see the doors of the main entrance a little way ahead of her. Following the sign for the visitors entrance she turned left, then followed the path round to the right through a flower-filled courtyard, to the door leading to reception.

The door was fitted with an entry system so she pressed the button and waited. She was surprised when she was buzzed in immediately, without having to give her name to the microphone. She pulled open the heavy glass door and went straight over to the reception desk.

"Hi," she said to the immaculately dressed receptionist, "I'm Bella Swan. I'm starting here today." She watched as the receptionist began pressing keys on her keyboard.

"Ah, yes," said the woman, in an affected voice, as she checked her computer screen. She turned slightly and began leafing through a pile of files on the end of her desk. She soon found what she was looking for. "This is your schedule and reading lists," she said, as she handed Bella a large brown envelope with her name on. "Someone has been sent to collect you. Please take a seat and they will be here shortly." She motioned towards one of the squishy leather armchairs lining the reception area.

Well, this sure is different from my last school, thought Bella, taking in the plush décor, carpeted floor, and tasteful pictures on the walls. She perched on the edge of one of the armchairs, tore open the envelope and started looking through all the information she had been given.

Hardly any time had passed at all, before a thin girl with dark brown wavy hair appeared from a side door. She was dressed from top to toe in the latest fashions. Seeing Bella, she made her way over to introduce herself.

"Hi, you must be Bella Swan," she said, holding out her hand for Bella to shake.

Bella hesitated for a second before she shook it, unaccustomed to such formality from people her own age. The girl smiled easily when she spoke, making Bella feel more relaxed.

"I'm Alice Brandon, but please call me Allie, all my friends do."

"Sure," said Bella, smiling back at this easygoing girl. She seemed like she would be very easy to like.

As they walked, Bella looked around trying to take everything in at once, while Allie kept up a constant stream of chatter. She answered every question that Bella would have thought to ask, before she even had time to ask it, and a great deal more besides.

"Actually Bella," she said, turning to face her, "you've arrived just in time for my favourite subject."

"Oh, and what's that?" asked Bella.

"Lunch." said Allie, grinning, and led Bella out of a door and across a huge room to the servery.

There were two men dressed in their crisp white chefs uniforms, standing on the other side of the servery, dishing up the food.

"What would you like today?" asked one of the chefs, looking up at Allie.

"Hmmm, I think I'll have the Salmon in Watercress Sauce with broccoli and asparagus tips," said Allie.

He dished it up and handed the plate over to Allie.

Bella was suddenly ravenous as she breathed in the delicious smells rising from the servery.

"And what would you like?" He looked up at Bella expectantly.

Bella found it was impossible to decide, so she just picked the same thing that Allie had chosen. "Er, the same, please."

He dished it up and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said.

They picked up knives and forks, then took their plates over and sat down at one of the tables out in the quad.

"I'm glad we got here early, we've got some great seats." Allie said, grinning.

Bella didn't understand her meaning and looked around to try and work out what was so great about them.

Allie saw what she was doing and laughed. "It's not the seats themselves that are great," she explained, "It's the view." She winked at Bella. "Wait till he comes in and you'll see," she promised.

Allie must like one of the boys here, thought Bella as she ate her lunch. It really was delicious. It certainly beat the rubber burgers and soggy chips that had been the main staple at her old school.

While they ate, Allie regaled her with the latest scandalous gossip, and soon, Bella was laughing along with her.

The quad was starting to fill up a little now. As she looked around, she noticed a tall elegant dark haired girl had just come in, flanked on each side by pretty cheerleader types. Something seemed odd to Bella about the way they walked together in formation, with the dark haired girl slightly in front of the other two. It was almost as if she was a celebrity and the other two were her bodyguards. She watched, fascinated by her, as the dark haired girl led the way up four wide stone steps that led to a slightly raised part of the quad and sat down at the centre of wide table. Her two friends sat either side of her, paying rapt attention to whatever it was she was saying, but Bella was far too far away to hear.

Allie caught her staring. "That's Rosalie Cullen," she explained. "Her full name is Rosalind, but she prefers Rosalie, so if you ever find yourself talking to her, make sure you use Rosalie or it will be bound to end in tears."

Bella glanced over at Allie, but she didn't appear to be joking.

"The other two are Amber Fox-Meade and Jade DeLaney, her friends, if you could call them that. Enforcers might be a better word." Allie looked down sulkily as she said that, and jabbed her food with her fork.

Bella thought back to the strange way they had walked in and realised she hadn't been far off the mark with her bodyguard theory.

Suddenly Allie was elbowing her in the ribs. Bella looked up at her, and then followed her gaze to the side door where a boy had just come in for lunch.

Bella had never seen anyone like him in her life. He was utterly, hopelessly, beautiful, with messy dark bronze hair, cut short at the back and falling into his huge, intense, piercing green eyes. He had high chiselled cheekbones, a wide sensuous mouth and exquisitely sculpted jaw line. Bellas mouth fell open in shock. She watched him in awe, as she tried to take in every exquisite detail at once. The voices in the quad were momentarily hushed as people stopped talking to stare.

"Who. Is. That?" she breathed dreamily, unable to tear her eyes away from such perfection.

Seeming oblivious to his audience, he strode over to the servery to get some food, and then bounded up the steps on his long, long legs. He paused briefly to kiss Rosalie on the cheek before pulling out a chair and sitting down next to Amber.

He must be Rosalies boyfriend, thought Bella, taking in the kiss. Lucky, lucky, Rosalie. She felt a stab of jealousy.

"That," said Allie, grinning, "is Edward Cullen. Rosalies brother."

"Her brother!" exclaimed Bella in surprise, still staring at Edward.

"Isn't he just the finest thing on two legs you ever saw?"

"He's perfect," agreed Bella.

"He's not dating anyone either." Allie said.

"So he's available then?" said Bella. But probably only if you're a supermodel heiress, she thought.

"Yes, except that every girl in school is waiting in line to date him, with Amber and Jade at the front. I think I'm around number 175 in the queue."

Bella laughed. "Well I think I'm going to push in and stand with you at 176."

"That's fine," said Allie. "As long as I'm in front of you." She stuck her tongue out at Bella, who laughed again. She was pretty sure that she and Allie were going to be good friends.

As the bell went, they gathered up their things and walked together to registration, talking and laughing as they went.

x-x-x-x

The rest of the day passed quickly, and before she knew it, her first day was over.

Saying goodbye to Allie, she walked over to find the bus and suddenly realized that there were three different buses and she had no clue which one was hers. She looked up to where the destinations were usually written across the top, but these buses just had numbers. 38, 23, or 19. She made a guess that it was the 38 and made her way over there.

She got on and spoke to the driver to find out if it was the right bus. It wasn't. Embarrassed, she made her way back out through the crowd of pushing kids trying to get on, and headed over to the 23 instead.

There was a small line so she had to wait for a while, before finally getting on and getting a seat. As she sat down, the girl in front of her swivelled round in her seat to face Bella.

"Your car busted?" She asked abruptly.

"Er..no..I haven't got a car," said Bella.

"Why not?" The girl asked.

"I can't afford one, said Bella, honestly."

The girl gave her a pitying look as if Bella had just her she only had 6 months left to live, then swirled round in her seat and started whispering to her friend. A minute later, her friend had swivelled round in her seat, given Bella a similar look, and turned back round again. They continued with their whispering and laughing routine for the entire journey, and Bella was glad when it was finally time for her to get off.

She let herself in and went straight up to her room to start her homework, but found she couldn't concentrate. Her mind kept slipping back to Edward Cullen.

Bella had always prided herself on being a sensible girl, not normally subject to silly crushes, but seeing Edward Cullen for the first time at lunch today had left her breathless. She was almost annoyed at her feelings for him since she knew they were based entirely on looks alone, but there was just something about him. As she sat and thought about him, she realised that it wasn't just the looks, it was the whole package. How he'd walked through that hall with every eye on him without even seeming to notice. How he'd kissed his sisters cheek and made every girl wish it were them in her place. He had an air of utter confidence about him, of one who knew the party wouldn't start until they got there. Bella knew this vision of perfection would never turn his beautiful head in her direction, but she couldn't help how she felt about him. Maybe he's incredibly boring, she thought hopefully. That's quite a common fault in very beautiful people since they never need to develop a personality to get through life. She consoled herself with this thought as she tried again to concentrate on her work.

She managed to push him out of her thoughts long enough to finish her homework, but he crept back in while she was eating dinner, then again while she was in the shower, then again before she went to bed. This is ridiculous she told herself sternly, we haven't even met and I can't stop thinking about him. I'll probably even dream about him too. She rolled her eyes at herself, but as she settled down to sleep, she couldn't deny that part of her hoped she would.

x-x-x-x

Edward Cullen sat in his parked car outside the front of the school waiting for his sister, Rosalie. Students were spilling out down the steps, chatting to friends as they headed home. As he idly watched the crowd, his eye fell on a girl he had never seen before waiting for the bus. She stuck out from the others because usually only the very youngest students took the bus, graduating to their own car the second they were old enough to drive. He let his eyes wander over the crowd again, but soon found they were pulled back to the girl. I wonder why she had to ride the bus, he thought idly. He watched as she got down from one bus looking embarrassed, then hastily looked around and started queuing for a different bus. Edward grinned as he watched her and noticed how different she looked from the other girls. Most of the girls at school didn't 'do' casual. They were all thigh skimming skirts and tight little tops. This girl was dressed simply in trousers and a pullover, her natural chestnut brown hair pulled back into a slightly off centre ponytail. All the other girls dress up to stand out, he thought, but this girl stands out because she's the only one not dressed up.

She looked so vulnerable waiting there, alone in the crowd. He suddenly felt the urge to ask her if she wanted a ride home.

Just then, Rosalie appeared, descending the stone steps. She went around to the passenger side and let herself in.

"Hello Edward." She slipped into her seat with no thought of an apology for making him wait. He wouldn't have expected it any other way.

"Hi Rosalie." He twisted around to put her bags in the back seat before turning back to face his sister. "Do you see that blonde girl over there in line for the bus?" He asked casually.

Rosalie lowered her dark glasses fractionally. "Yes I see her," she said in a bored voice.

"I don't suppose you know who she is, do you?"

"Have you disconnected your brain Edward?" she said, letting the glasses fall back into place. "Why the hell would I know anything about a drip like that?" She sighed. "And what reason could you possibly have for asking?"

"Oh, no reason." Edward lied easily. "I just never noticed her before."

"Hardly surprising, looking like she does." She gave him a sharp sidelong glance, but wasn't really interested enough to pursue the subject.

"I need to stop at Tobias's on the way home," he said, changing the subject before she had a chance to question him further.

"Fine, but be quick, I want to get back to talk to Jasper."

"Sure, don't worry, I'll be quick," he assured her as he drove over to Tobias's warehouse.

Fifteen minutes later, he reappeared with a box full of synthesized plasma, and a smaller box of serum shots. He carefully put the boxes in the boot, before climbing back in to the car.

"Was that some new definition of 'quick' that I wasn't aware of?" complained Rosalie, shooting evils at Edward.

"Don't sweat it, sis," he said, grinning amicably as he started up the car.

"Just tell me you're done now," she demanded.

"I'm done now," he said.

"Thank god, I nearly died of old age waiting for you to come out."

Edward grinned, unfazed, and he sped off down the road.

x-x-x-x

Soon they arrived home, and Edward drove up their long drive and parked right outside the front door.

Without thanking him for the ride, or offering to help with his boxes, Rosalie gathered up her bags, slammed the door, and swept regally into the house.

Edward went around to the trunk, took out the boxes of serum and synthesised plasma (or synth, as he called it), and followed her inside. He turned into the kitchen, putting the boxes on the table and typed in the code to unlock the digi-lock on their huge fridge. Putting the boxes inside and securing the fridge again, he went back into their enormous entrance hall, and walked over to where his brother was standing, talking to Rosalie in hushed tones.

They hastily shut up as he approached.

"Hi Jasper," said Edward, smiling at his brother, "did you have a good day?"

"Very constructive," said Jasper, cryptically, as his eyes flicked over to Rosalie and he smiled. "How about you?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," said Edward, feigning boredom. He immediately knew his brother and sister were up to something, he just didn't know what, and more importantly, he didn't care. He was aware of their little secrets, the cross currents and the cryptic talk, and he just wanted to get out of their way and leave them to get on with it. "I'm going for a swim," he announced, and went upstairs to his bedroom to change out of his clothes.

Rosalie and Jasper carried on their conversation where they had left off.

"Look Jazz, it doesn't matter that you couldn't get a cap," said Rosalie, keeping her voice low for fear of Edward overhearing. "Just wear the grey suit. A lot of drivers don't wear caps anymore. It'll be fine."

"If you say so," said Jasper, "I trust you. Did you manage to get what you needed?"

"I almost didn't. I had to wait till the very end of the day to get it from her, and kept Edward waiting outside for ages." She grinned up at him.

"Not that you care about that," he said, grinning down at her, "besides, keeping men waiting is what woman do best." He smiled as he ran his thumb down the side of her cheek. "So are you ready to do this?"

She looked up into his eyes. "I was born to do this."

He laughed.

"I'd better go and get changed."

He watched her as she glided up the stairs. He would do anything for her, and she knew it.

x-x-x-x

Later that evening he went looking for Edward and found him out on the terrace, drinking from a bottle of synth and reading a book.

"Rosalie wants to go out so I've promised to take her somewhere fun," said Jasper.

"Okay," said Edward, looking up from his book. "Hey, wait!" He said as he suddenly noticed Jasper's suit.

"What is it?" Jasper asked innocently.

"What on earth are you wearing?" He looked Jasper up and down. "You look like a Limo Driver."

Jasper laughed.

"That wasn't a joke," said Edward, "it was a statement of fact."

"Limo Driver was just the look I was going for," said Jasper, amused.

"You're not going to get into Mode1 dressed like that," said Edward, referring to the club they sometimes went to.

"We're not going to Mode1," said Jasper cryptically.

Edward could see the conversation was going nowhere. "Fine," he said, defeated. "Wear what you like. At least I tried to stop you. My job as brother is done, and I can get back to my book."

"There's no need to be jealous Edward," said Jasper grinning, "I'll let you borrow it whenever you like." As he turned to leave, he was hit in the shoulder by a flying bottle cap. "See you later Edward."

"Have fun."

"Oh, we will."

Jasper went around the side of the house to the garage. Earlier today, he had removed Rosalies licence plates and replaced them with fake ones he'd made. He checked they were still secure, then got in the drivers side. He looked in the rear view mirror at Rosalie, who was already sitting in the back. He was surprised how different she looked wearing the blonde curly wig.

"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer," she snapped nervously.

"You just look so different," he said, still staring.

"That's the point isn't it?"

"Its suits you," he said, and started up the car.

"Well, I heard that blondes do have more fun," she said grinning.

x-x-x-x

Eventually they pulled up outside a dingy dive of a pub. Jasper got out and opened the door for her, then kissed her on the mouth.

"Happy hunting my dear," he said, smiling at her.

Rosalie smiled back. She made her way over to the door, pushed it open and went inside.

The pub was practically empty. There was an old couple sitting down in the far corner and a few younger guys on their own sitting up at the bar. Rosalie deliberated for a split second, and then made her way over to a guy who looked about twenty-five. He was sitting alone at the end of the bar staring into his whisky glass. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.

"Hello there, I'm Angela." Her voice purred seductively in his ear as she flashed him a playful smile.

The man, who couldn't believe his luck at the attentions of this beautiful siren, could do no more than grunt a reply.

"You're not married or anything are you?" She asked.

The guy slowly shook his head.

"Girlfriend?"

"Er..no." He finally managed something close to coherent speech.

"Excellent." She smiled happily, staring deep into his eyes. "How would you like to come to a party with me?"

"A party?" Stuttered the man in surprise.

"Yes, a party," she said, a little impatiently. "Food, drink, music, dancing. Any of that sound familiar?"

"Er…yeah..okay," he managed to stammer.

"That's great!" She beamed at him. "Do you have anyone you need to call before we leave, to let them know you won't be home tonight?"

"No, I live alone."

"Excellent," she purred. "We should get going then." She linked her arm through his and led him to the door. "I have my car waiting outside." She pushed open the heavy door and led him to the big black car, opened the door, and climbed inside.

Jasper's deep voice filled the car. "Where to, miss?" He glanced up into the mirror and caught his sisters triumphant gaze with his own.

"Take me to the Westbournes house, Henry," she said, "Annabel is having a party there tonight."

"Is that the big old house in the woods, miss?"

"Yes, that's the one," she said, and they sped off into the night.

They had been driving for more than 20 minutes. Jasper had put a CD in the player and the incessant beat was blaring out of the speakers as they drove.

He was steering the big, heavy car through a maze of quiet country roads, gradually getting further and further from the city. The streetlights had disappeared a few miles ago and now there was nothing but the dim glow of the moon and the powerful beam of the headlights to light their way.

Eventually, Jasper pulled the car over onto the verge and shut of the engine. After the pulsating beat of the music, the silence was deafening.

"We're here, miss," he said, and got out to open the back door.

Rosalie and the man got out of the car and he looked around in the darkness.

"I can't see the house," he said, confused. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Oh yes." Rosalie looked at him intensely. "I'm sure." She moved towards him and pressed her body against his, trapping him between her body and the car.

He wasn't complaining.

She looked deep into his eyes with unconcealed lust, and then kissed his neck.

He relaxed under her touch, unaware that the lust in her eyes was not for his body, but for his blood.

In a split second she lifted her head back, drew her teeth, and brought them down hard on his neck, sinking them into his pulsing vein.

In another split second Jasper was at her side, burying his teeth into the other side of the mans neck.

They drank together in silence until there was no more left to drink and the man was dead.

As they let the corpse drop to the floor, Jasper turned to her. Her eyes, glowing red in the dark, mirrored his own. Her lids were half closed in contentment as she licked the blood off her lips.

"Happy Birthday." He kissed her once on the lips, then half turned and leant with his back against the car, lighting a cigarette.

"You always get me all the best presents." She smiled at him as she took the cigarette from his fingers, inhaled deeply, and then held it back out to him.

"Keep it. Someone has to get rid of the evidence and I doubt you'd want to risk breaking a nail.

"That's my brother, always the gentleman," she teased, as she watched him work. "Who else would indulge me my every whim?"

He laughed. "It's only because you make eternity seem bearable."


	2. Chapter 2

Next Morning Bella was already dressed and eating breakfast before Edward started invading her thoughts again. Wow, a whole 25 minutes without thinking about him, thought Bella sarcastically, that must be my new personal best. She hadn't dreamed about him last night after all. She had a strange dream about her mom and Phil opening a dog training school and later been chased by a swarm of bees. A dream about Edward would have been much more fun, she thought. Later, when her bus pulled up outside the school, she was surprised when she realised how excited she was at the thought of seeing him again. She walked into the building and went off to meet Allie.

"So how many times did you think about Edward last night?"

Bella was about to deny it, then she changed her mind and smiled at Allie instead. "About a hundred." she admitted.

Allie grinned at her. "I knew it. No girl can resist."

x-x-x-x

As the week went on, she soon adapted to her new school and routine, which included Edward watching. Allie was a great help, partly because she knew exactly how Bella felt and she could talk to her about it without her laughing, partly because Allie was already so well versed with Edwards timetable they could catch a glimpse whenever they had a class nearby.

Bella had decided to stop fighting her crush and just accept it and it made life a lot easier for her. Nothing could have prepared her what happened next though.

x-x-x-x

It was Monday afternoon. The first week of term had passed by rather uneventfully and Edward was bored. His older brother had already graduated and he missed Jasper's colourful presence. The only highlights of his school day had come in the form of the mysterious new girl who Edward kept catching glimpses of on his way around the school. The best time to watch her was lunch though, as she was nearly always sitting in his line of sight, with Allie Brandon, who seemed to be her best friend. He liked the way she laughed, throwing her head back in the air. He watched her now, wishing he knew what she was laughing at. Suddenly he realised that he wanted to be the one to make her laugh like that. From further up the table, he heard his sister say his name.

"Edward, what on earth are you staring at so intensely?"

Without missing a beat, Edward lied. "I was thinking about my History homework. Did you know that in the reign of King Henry VII it was common for -"

"Ugh!" Rosalie wrinkled her nose. "Forget I asked. I want quiet starey Edward back now."

Amber and Jade sniggered.

Trying not to be too obvious, Edward glanced back over to where Bella was, and realised she was leaving.

"I can do one better than that." Edward said, as he got up from his seat.

"Oh Edward, I didn't mean to hurt your sensitive little feelings. Much."

Edward grinned at her. "I'll see you later tonight," he said to Rosalie, then turned and walked out of the dining hall.

"I wish he had been saying that to me," said Jade sadly, and sighed.

"You shouldn't get your hopes up like that. You know I'm the only girl he wants." Amber said.

"Not even if you were the last girl on earth." Jade chimed in.

"You two are so lucky that Edward is my brother, said Rosalie, joining in, "or I would have snapped him up right under both your noses."

x-x-x-x

Edward was following Bella from a distance. He had decided he was going to ask her out on a date. This was a pretty momentous decision for Edward as he had never asked a girl out before. He had never needed to, they had always done all the running, all he'd ever had to do was say yes. Despite all that, Edward was feeling confident. He also had a weird fluttery feeling in his stomach that he'd never felt before and couldn't explain, but he was sure it had something to do with Bella.

Seeing her waiting down the hall with Allie, he took his phone out of his pocket and pretended to reading a text so nobody would wonder why he was just standing there in the corridor. Then he noticed Allie walk off a little way to talk to someone else, while the girl went off alone down the corridor leading to the vending machine. Here's my chance, he thought, as he quickly made his way after her.

He saw her standing alone at the vending machine, choosing something to eat and walked up to stand in line behind her as if he had only come down here to use the machine.

Bella was trying to decide between Cola and Dr Pepper, when she heard someone walk up to wait in line behind her. "If you know what you want you should go first," she said, not taking her eyes from the glass, "I can't decide."

"Take all the time you need, I'm in no hurry," said a low, clear voice behind her.

Bella half turned her head, smiling to acknowledge the stranger, then quickly did a double take when she realised who that voice belonged to. Her stomach flipped over and she felt her heart accelerate wildly. She realised she was staring at him with her mouth open and quickly shut it.

"You're new here aren't you?"

He was standing very close to her and Bella could just make out a clean soapy smell and a faint spicy tang of limes. Resisting the urge to bury her face in his chest and breathe it in, she managed a weak nod.

"I'm Edward Cullen."

"Oh, okay," said Bella, stupidly. He had a way of speaking that exuded confidence in every word. Bella was sure she could have sat and listened to him reading out a phone directory and still never get bored of hearing it.

Edward grinned. "and you are?"

Oh, that grin, how much perfection can one girl handle? He wants to know my name, she thought, I wonder if I remember it? "I'm...er…Bella Swan." Well done Bella, she thought, congratulating herself.

"Well Its nice to meet you Bella Swan." he held out his hand for her to shake.

Bella looked down at it stupidly. Oh no, she thought. What if my palms are sweaty? What if my skin is too rough?…….What if I leave him standing there with his hand sticking out and make him look like a fool? She quickly shoved her hand into his. He shook it with just the lightest of pressure and his skin was soft and cool. Her heart leapt up and down in her chest as she realised she was holding Edwards hand. She never wanted to let it go. Eventually he loosened his grip a little and she quickly pulled her hand away, trying not to let him see how much his touch had affected her.

"Nice to meet you too." Bella quickly blurted out. He's going to say bye now, thought Bella, its almost over. The thought made her feel acute relief and incredible disappointment, both at the same time. She waited, but he didn't move or say anything. She looked up into his face to try and guess what he was thinking and thought he looked like he was trying to decide something.

He glanced back over at Bella and caught her eye.

Bella was trapped by those huge intense green eyes burning into hers. She wondered if she'd ever be able to look away. She certainly didn't want to.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me tonight?"

Bella froze in disbelief. Her supreme efforts to stay in control had been smashed into tiny pieces by this bizarre, and totally unexpected turn in the conversation. Surely this couldn't have been what he'd just asked her, or maybe she was daydreaming again.

"Out? With you?"

Edward took in her furrowed brow, her confused expression and the questioning tone of her voice and guessed she was going to say no. She looked like she thought it would be a bad idea. Edward carried on regardless.

"Yes," said Edward, sounding a little unsure of himself. "I thought we could have some fun and I could tell you all the best places to go, since you're new in town." The utter confidence in his voice had gone and suddenly, unbelievably, he seemed vulnerable.

Bella couldn't believe this was happening to her. The guy that she'd been dreaming about since got here was right in front of her, asking her out and she was messing it up. She made a last ditch supreme effort to pull herself together and concentrate.

"Okay," she breathed.

"Great! That's great." He sounded happy and relieved as he smiled at Bella. She could hardly believe that one word from her had instigated such a happy reaction.

"Meet me in the Car Park after school and I'll give you a ride home."

The utterly confident voice was back. Bella didn't know which one she preferred.

"You don't have your car with you, do you?" He asked, knowing full well that she didn't.

Bella shook her head for a little too long.

"That works out perfectly then." He shot her the ghost of a wink. "I'll see you later, Bella"

"See you later" she blurted.

He smiled his devastating smile at her for a few moments, then, almost reluctantly, he turned and went off down the hall.

Bella just stood there, watching his retreating back until he was out of sight. Only then was she released from his spell.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." Bella repeated faster and faster. She could barely believe what had just happened.

x-x-x-x

Edward was feeling very pleased with himself. It had seemed for a minute like she was going to say no, but she hadn't, she had said yes. He wanted to punch the air in a victory cheer, but managed to restrain himself. He had lied a bit about not knowing if she had her car with her, but that was only because he didn't want her to guess he had been watching her. He could hardly wait for the rest of the day to drag by, so he could meet with her and have a real conversation.

x-x-x-x

Bella was still standing there like a statue, a goofy smile on her face, when Allie came around the corner looking for her.

"You've been ages. I got bored of waiting. What's wrong? Couldn't decide again?" Allie teased as she smiled at Bella. Then she noticed the goofy smile on Bellas face. "What's happened Bella?" Allie asked curiously. "What's wrong with you?"

Bella couldn't answer for a minute, then she beamed at Allie. "You'll never, ever believe what's just happened." She stared at Allie, her face glowing with happiness.

"What?" Allie said impatiently. "What is it Bella?"

"Edward Cullen just asked me to go out with him after school!" The words came out in a high pitched rush as Bella started bouncing up and down in excitement.

Allie grabbed onto Bellas arms as the words sunk in. "Wow Bella! You're so lucky. What did he say, what did he say, details, details. Allie was almost as excited as Bella was at the news.

"Well, first he told me his name which was funny because I already knew it of course," Bella laughed. "Then he asked me my name and I told him and then asked if I wanted to go out with him and he would tell me all the good places to go because I'm new in in town and don't know any yet." She blurted it all out in a rush. "Oh, and he shook my hand!" Bella laughed delightedly, looking down at her hand as she remembered Edwards cool soft touch.

"You're so lucky Bella." Allie said again

"I know! I didn't know he knew I even existed. I can hardly believe its really happening. I keep waiting to wake up, or have someone leap out and scream April Fool at me."

At those words, something was triggered in Allies memory and she was suddenly quiet and thoughtful for a minute. She was remembering something that had happened before. She debated with herself for a while whether or not to mention it to her friend. If it were me, I would want to know, she thought. I have to, at least, give her the details and let her decide for herself. Her mind made up, she turned to Bella.

"Hold on a second Bella, said Allie in a small voice. "I don't want to ruin this this for you, but I just need to let you know about something."

"What?" Bella was still buzzing in her happiness.

"It's probably nothing. He's probably genuine, but I have to let you know, just in case. I don't want you to get your hopes up so much if he isn't."

"What? What is it?" Bella said, catching on to the tone of Allies voice.


End file.
